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The lively event of the 2022 Qatar World Cup was also shocked by the viral photo showing Al Rihla, the 2022 World Cup ball being charged, aka being charged like a smartphone.
This is indeed a unique sight and has never been seen before in a football event or even in any sport that uses a ball. In fact, Al Rihla's ball is indeed special so the treatment is also different.
In the viral photo, you can see a number of balls still wrapped in plastic gathered close to a power outlet and being charged like a smartphone. One of these photos was uploaded by the Twitter account @JoePompliano.
Fun Fact: The World Cup introduced a new ball this year with a sensor that collects spatial positioning data in real-time to make offside reviews more accurate.
But it needs to be charged before each match 🤣 pic.twitter.com/plbNz0VmSq
—Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) November 30, 2022
You must be curious, why is that? Maybe not many know, inside the ball there is a sensor that is activated by a battery that must be fully charged to control the game. The 2022 World Cup ball is indeed sophisticated. Al Rihla is equipped with a 500Hz motion sensor developed by KINEXON. The immersion of the sensor in the 2022 World Cup ball completely changed the game on the field and really helped the referee, for example in the case of the controversial Japan vs Spain goal.
World Cup balls getting charged.
They contain Ultra-wideband (UWB) sensors and Inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors to obtain the position of the ball and the granular movement in three dimensions. pic.twitter.com/1hgjZBxRK9
— Kiplagat Koech (@realkevin_koech) November 30, 2022
In another upload, the Twitter account @realkevin_koech stated that the World Cup ball contained an Ultra-wideband (UWB) sensor and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor. It aims to get the position of the ball and movement in three dimensions.
This ball can provide information on the location, impact, and movement of every kick and header on the field and even capture speeds of up to 500 frames per second. The sensors inside are also very important in implementing semi-automatic offside calls. This is what causes many goals canceled. The 2022 World Cup will be the first to incorporate technology into football itself.
Quoted from the Daily Mail, Friday (2/12/2022) Al Rihla was supplied by a sports equipment company from Germany, Adidas. The name Al Rihla itself is taken from Arabic which means journey.
The battery for the sensor inside the ball is small and weighs only 14 grams. According to Adidas, the battery can last for six hours with active use. When not in use, the ball's battery lasts up to 18 days.
Al Rihla Made in Madiun and Becomes the Best Ball
Al Rihla was officially introduced as the official ball for the 2022 World Cup on March 30 2022 with the Adidas brand label. Even though it is listed as a manufacturer, Adidas entrusts Al Rihla to be made in Indonesia, to be precise in Madiun, East Java.
Al Rihla is produced by PT Global Way Indonesia (GWI) in Madiun Regency. The kemlu.go.id page also lists Al Rihla as the official ball for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which is produced in Madiun.
Adidas entrusted Global Way to produce the ball. The company has exported its balls to the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil.
The 2022 World Cup ball was also rated as the best in terms of aerodynamics based on the research results of a professor in physics at the University of Lynchburg, United States, John Eric Goff. He said the ball made in Madiun had a very good design so that it had high aerodynamics.